Detroit is a city in Wayne County, Michigan. It is the largest city in the state of Michigan, although between 2000 and 2010, the city's population declined by 25%.[1] As of 2013, its population was 688,701.[2]

City government

The city of Detroit utilizes a "strong mayor" and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[3]

Mayor

The mayor serves as the city's chief executive, and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors and committee members and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also possesses veto powers, though the Detroit city charter establishes procedures whereby city council may override mayoral vetoes under certain circumstances. Mike Duggan is the current Mayor of Detroit.[4]

City council

The Detroit City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes and making or amending city laws, policies and ordinances.[5]

Membership

The Detroit City Council is made up of nine members. Seven are elected by the city's seven districts, while two are elected at large. All members serve four-year terms. There are no term limits.[6]

Election by district has not always been the case in Detroit. Rather, it is the result of a city charter that Detroit voters approved in November 2011 and took effect in 2013. Before 2013, all city council members were elected at-large. Detroit's seven districts can be seen on the map below.[7]

Council committees

The Detroit City Council features features eight standing committees, which focus on individual policy and legislative issues. Generally, the drafting of city legislation begins with the committees.[8]

Initiative process

Charter city
Population as of the July 2011 census update: 706,585[10]

The signature requirement is 3% of all votes cast for the office of Mayor at the preceding regular city general election. Petition content requirements can be found in the Detroit Charter, Sec. 12-102. Petitions must be filed with the city clerk not less than 140 days before the election at which it is to be voted on. Any signature obtained more than 6 months before the filing of the petition with the city clerk shall not be counted. After certification, the council has 60 days to adopt the measure or they shall submit it at the next election in the city, or, at the discretion of the city council, at a special election, subject to applicable provisions of the Michigan Election Law, MCL 168.1, et seq.

Restrictions: Initiative does not extend to the budget or any ordinance for the appropriation of money.

Lobbying

In 2013, Detroit's federal lobbying related expenses amounted to approximately $60,000.[11] The issues for which the city filed in 2013, as well as the number of reports, can be seen in the box below. The issues column lists the generic issues that lobbyists working for local governments are required by law to disclose on quarterly federal disclosure forms.[12][13] The reports column gives the number of reports lobbyists filed in regards to each generic issue. To learn more about the details of the specific issues for which Detroit filed reports, read the federal disclosure forms by clicking the "Issues" links in the box below.